The Bozeman Public Library was presented with the national Baker & Taylor award from United for Libraries, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), for its civil discourse series, SymBozium. This award is given to innovative community programs spearheaded and/or funded by library foundations. The award was shared at the 2019 ALA Annual Conference on June 24, 2019 in Washington, D.C.
“We are thrilled that the community has responded to this program with such enthusiasm and honored to be recognized at a national level. It is motivation to keep planning these great events,” says Susan Gregory, Library Director.
SymBozium is a civil discourse series meant to engage the community in respectful and productive conversation around complex controversial topics. It is a moderated forum with subject-matter experts and an opportunity for audience participation. The first SymBozium was held in October 2018. Previous topics include Fake News and The Economics of Immigration.
The third event in the series will be held on Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at 7:00 pm at the Emerson’s Crawford Theater. The latest topic is How Smart is Too Smart? Exploring the Pros and Cons of Artificial Intelligence. The panel will be moderated by Les Craig, partner, Next Frontier Capital with guest speakers Dr. Sarah Myers West, postdoctoral researcher, AI Now Institute, NYU; Joe Flood, reporter, historian, founder and CEO, N2 Communications; and Jason Taylor, Chief Technology Officer, Security Innovation.
“We are deeply grateful to our sponsors at every level who make it possible for the Library to offer great programs like Symbozium. We share this award with them,” says Janay Johnson, Library Foundation Director. The Kendeda Fund, NorthWestern Energy, Entropy Brands, Holding Ground Architects, and Bozeman Daily Chronicle in addition to many private citizens have donated to support the series.
Learn more about SymBozium, suggest a topic, or register for the next event at www.symbozium.org